Chapter 8: The Real Heir in a Fake Young Master Heartthrob Novel

At first, Father Gu thought it was just a little chick, nothing special. But after discovering his son’s excessive care for it, he also began to genuinely treat it as a member of the family.

“Jiujiu doesn’t like baskets; I put him in my shirt pocket.”

He used to do this before, and Jiujiu liked it very much, only occasionally would he naughtily stick his head out to look around.

“Alright, next time you buy clothes for Yijing, get ones with bigger pockets. Jiujiu has gotten quite fat recently; he might not fit in.”

Shen Yijing subconsciously reached into his shirt pocket. Thinking carefully, what his father said was actually quite possible.

Even if he could fit, Jiujiu would definitely find it too crowded and uncomfortable.

Jiujiu liked to burrow into pockets, but not just to stay inside; at his most mischievous, he would even roll around, run, and hop inside.

Father Gu hadn’t put much energy into the family before, prioritizing work. In most cases, it was his wife who maintained the family’s balance.

And now that Shen Yijing had returned to the Gu family, he, as his wife suggested, decided to spend more time with this child.

On the day they went to see the magic show, Jiujiu not only wore a very exquisite bow tie on his chest but also had an exceptionally delicate little hat.

Afraid of messing up his look, he didn’t let his dad put him in his shirt pocket but instead stayed in the small basket with his head held high.

The tickets Father Gu bought were near the front, an excellent viewing position. The magician performing the show, dressed in a black suit, handed them a rose.

Shen Yijing took the red rose and waved it a few times in front of Jiujiu. The strong floral scent made Jiujiu a little dizzy.

He sat there, shook his head, and chirped at his dad with particular anger.

How could you be so mean? That’s no way to tease a cub.

Then Jiujiu stared at the rose, thought for a moment, and tried to pick it up with his beak. After trying for a long time, he couldn’t move it, so he could only sit down dejectedly.

Before Shen Yijing could apologize to Jiujiu, the magic show began. When the magician came on stage, Jiujiu chirped at him.

Dad said he should be a very polite little chubby bird. Jiujiu was thanking the magician for the gift.

The earlier acts were indeed very magical, and Jiujiu couldn’t bear to look away.

Noticing Jiujiu liked it, Shen Yijing also followed his gaze.

As the magic show was nearing its end, the magician brought out a very lively white dove.

He first showed it to them, and Shen Yijing, sitting in the front row, was the best audience participant.

Jiujiu saw the dove, which was clearly much larger than himself. If it weren’t for the crowd, he even wanted to extend a wing to shake wings with it.

After finishing the display, the magician placed the dove in a cage and covered the cage with a black cloth.

Immediately after, he took a knife handed to him by an assistant and stabbed it fiercely many times through the gap in the middle of the cage.

This action made many audience members gasp in fright. After the various sounds died down, the magician lifted the cloth, took the dove out again, and with a slight upward motion, made the white dove flap its wings and fly upwards.

Many people realized what had happened and began to cheer and applaud the magician’s extremely brilliant performance.

But Jiujiu was too scared to react. He subconsciously tried to climb out of the small basket into his dad’s arms. Although he was too round to climb easily, he hopped persistently until he burrowed into his dad’s clothes.

In complete darkness, enveloped by his dad’s body heat, Jiujiu, who had been trembling all over from fright, gradually calmed down.

Shen Yijing could vaguely sense that something was wrong with Jiujiu, so he didn’t pull him out. It wasn’t until they got in the car to go home that he pulled his clothes open a little and asked:

“Jiujiu, what’s wrong?”

Jiujiu’s two tiny claws were still trembling non-stop. He covered his head with his wings.

Through the light filtering in from the gap he had opened in his clothes, Shen Yijing could only see Jiujiu’s fluffy bottom.

In this world, apart from his own peculiarities, Jiujiu couldn’t use spiritual power. But his keen sense of smell was his innate ability.

When the magician stabbed the knife into the cage, in that instant, he could smell a very strong, nauseating scent of blood.

Previously, Jiujiu was raised by the Divine Emperor in the Heavenly Palace. The people who occasionally came to play with him also dared not do anything to the Divine Emperor’s son.

Apart from wondering why Daddy wouldn’t kiss a cute little chubby bird, Jiujiu had no worries at all.

Even after coming to this world, it was mostly the same. He was taken care of so well by Shen Yijing that in Jiujiu’s world, things were simply black and white.

Among the people Jiujiu knew, those labeled as bad people were bad people.

But that magician… when he first handed the rose to Dad, he smiled so kindly. Jiujiu had thought he was a very good and amazing uncle.

When they returned home, Mother Gu saw that Jiujiu was still unwilling to come out. She guessed and said:

“Were there too many people, and Jiujiu got scared? Next time, let’s book the whole place to watch.”

“Mom, I’ll go back to my room first. I’ll ask him.”

Mother Gu also knew their relationship was good, so she nodded in agreement.

Shen Yijing sat down in his chair, unbuttoned his clothes, and picked up Jiujiu, who was huddled inside. He soothingly stroked his head and asked:

“What’s wrong?”

“That dove… wasn’t the first dove. The first dove was killed.”

When Jiujiu said this, his small, milky voice trembled with unconcealable fear.

Clearly, when the magician brought out the dove to interact with them, he had wanted to find it after the show to shake wings.

“Killed?”

“Dad, I’m scared.”

As Jiujiu spoke, he tried to burrow into his dad’s clothes again. Before this, he had never imagined the outside world could be so terrifying—so terrifying that his beady eyes couldn’t even register what was wrong.

Shen Yijing let him lie down in his embrace and noticed the fluff at the corners of his eyes was a bit damp. He gently patted him with the pad of his index finger.

Tickets for magic shows were very expensive for most people nowadays. Because of how spectacular it was, on the way back, Shen Yijing even heard his mom say it was worth the ticket price.

To have scared his little one so badly, Shen Yijing didn’t think Jiujiu was lying to him. Besides, his little one would never lie.

The moment he thought about such a spectacular performance coming at the cost of a pigeon’s life, Shen Yijing also felt an inexplicable chill run down his limbs.

“Daddy, hold Jiujiu. Jiujiu is scared.”

As he spoke, Jiujiu proactively nudged his dad’s hand with his wing and lay down, using his dad’s hand as a blanket.

Previously, Shen Yijing could feel Jiujiu’s affection for him, but this was the first time he had seen him so clingy. Whenever his hand moved even slightly, Jiujiu’s body would hesitate.

Seeing Jiujiu so scared, Shen Yijing silently resolved in his heart that he absolutely couldn’t take him a second time.

When evening came, Jiujiu, who was usually gluttonous, saw the plate placed in front of him and uncharacteristically had no appetite at all.

Dragging his chubby little self, he ran to his dad’s side and sat down, obediently waiting for his dad to finish eating.

“Jiujiu, why aren’t you eating?”

Shen Yijing thought for a moment and decided not to hide it from his mom, explaining the reason why Jiujiu was scared.

“Oh heavens, this…”

Mother Gu was also quite surprised after hearing it. Although it was just a pigeon, being killed in a wet market versus being stabbed to death in that kind of environment were different things to her.

Even she, an adult, felt it was somewhat cruel upon hearing about it, let alone a little chick like Jiujiu.

That evening, Shen Yijing gave Jiujiu a warm bath and helped dry all his feathers. Seeing Jiujiu still with his head drooping and listless, he leaned over and gave him a kiss.

“Daddy, even if you kiss Jiujiu, it’s no use. I’m still scared.”

“Then let’s go to bed early tonight, okay?”

Shen Yijing gently stroked Jiujiu’s belly. Although he was still young, when he spoke, he inexplicably sounded very gentle.

One hand rested on the table, propping up his chin. He tilted his head, asking for his little one’s opinion.

“Daddy, I feel like if I close my eyes, I can see that pigeon dying.”

Jiujiu painfully covered his eyes with his wings. Before going out, he had dressed himself up very nicely, thinking he was definitely the most handsome chick. After coming back, no matter what position he tried, he still felt uncomfortable.

“Then let’s go out and play for a while, okay?”

“Mm.”

Shen Yijing sat down on the swing in the backyard, holding Jiujiu. His freshly dried feathers were still a bit damp. The wind on autumn and winter nights was very cold. Jiujiu was tucked into his dad’s pocket.

The fluffy pocket was very good at keeping him warm. What was originally a decorative flap covering the pocket happened to become Jiujiu’s hat, covering his head.

“Daddy, if I turned into a pigeon, would you still love me?”

“I’ll love you no matter what Jiujiu turns into.”

“Then what if your pocket can’t fit Jiujiu anymore?”

Shen Yijing glanced down, just as Jiujiu was strenuously stretching up and nudged the thing covering his head to the side.

Such childish questions, perhaps only a young man like Shen Yijing would answer them so seriously.

“Then I’ll get a bigger pocket.”

“Can Jiujiu, as a pigeon, still perch on Daddy’s head? Won’t Daddy’s neck get sore?”

“Yes, you can. If it gets sore, you can just come down for a bit.”

Shen Yijing didn’t remember how many childish questions he answered. He only knew that later, the night wind was truly cold, and the little chubby chick in his pocket had fallen asleep at some point.

Back in the room, Shen Yijing looked at Jiujiu’s current obedient sleeping posture and guessed that he probably wasn’t sleeping soundly.

Usually, when Jiujiu slept comfortably, his wings, claws, head, and bottom would all be sprawled out every which way.

“Jiujiu, good night.”

After saying that, Shen Yijing covered him with a blanket, then warmed him with his hand for a while. Once he was warm, Shen Yijing leaned over and kissed him again.

After falling asleep, Jiujiu would still twitch from time to time. Each time he was startled awake, he would groggily nuzzle towards his dad, eventually snuggling down beside his dad’s head.